Shuttle Fuel Tank to Meet Boosters for NASA's STS-121 Flight

Posted on: Apr. 26th, 2006 || Source: space.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA aims to start connecting a redesigned external tank and two rocket boosters today while managers consider data that shows extra safety modifications might be needed before the agency's next shuttle flight.

But any additional work on the tank, if required, can be completed in time to launch Discovery on NASA's second post-Columbia test flight in early July, agency officials say.

"We've already booked five to seven days for those activities if we decide they are necessary," said Kyle Herring, a spokesman for Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We can accomplish any additional work and still meet the schedule we've laid out for July 1."

A decision on whether to order up extra work could be made as early as Thursday.

NASA took a big step toward launch Monday as crane operators hoisted the 154-foot-long tank off a transporter in the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building.

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